House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., announced on Thursday that he would convene a full committee hearing next Wednesday to examine the future of the United States Postal Service.
The hearing will explore a range of options to avoid a multi-billion dollar taxpayer funded bailout and restore USPS to long-term financial solvency.
“The Postal Service’s decision to first pursue modified Saturday delivery and then renege on its cost-cutting plan has seriously set back efforts to advance postal reform legislation,” said Issa. “This hearing will allow us to review a wide variety of options to bring the troubled agency back from insolvency.”
The modified six-day delivery schedule, announced on February 6th of this year, would’ve saved USPS approximately $2 billion per year. On April 10th, USPS reversed its earlier decision and decided not to pursue a modified delivery schedule.
Among the witnesses invited will be Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe and members of the USPS Board of Governors, the Presidentially-appointed and Senate-confirmed body that governs the Postal Service.
On Wednesday, Issa issued a scathing statement in response to the USPS decision to continue reject modified Saturday delivery. “I am disappointed that the Postal Service has backed away from plans to implement a modified Saturday delivery schedule that polling indicates the American people understand and support. This reversal significantly undercuts the credibility of Postal officials who have told Congress that they were prepared to defy political pressure and make difficult but necessary cuts.
“Just a few months ago, when USPS announced that it would alter Saturday delivery service, it made no mention that this change could only occur if Congress eliminated an old and well-known provision of law,” said Issa. “Despite some assertions, it’s quite clear that special interest lobbying and intense political pressure played a much greater role in the Postal Service’s change of heart than any real or perceived barrier to implementing what had been announced. While I will continue to work on comprehensive postal reform legislation that can pass both the House and Senate, this reversal will clearly be a setback to such efforts.”